More of the Florida Trip....

As you can see from the pics below, we had a blast in Florida. Both Busch Gardens and Clearwater Beach were a huge hit. Obviously, the Tropical Storm passed quickly and the nice weather rolled in.

Monday, Audra and I celebrated our 19th Anniversary and we went out for a night on the town. Good times!

This was the view from our Room. Located right on Tampa Bay, this Double Tree was really nice. Separate bed rooms and a large suite kept us from running over one another for 5 days. The kids loved sitting at the window, watching the dolphins and stingray surface.

The kids in front of the elephant pen. Busch Gardens Zoo is really nice and the train ride gives you great views of all the animals.



The kids next to a Busch Gardens Range Rover. The theme throughout the park is one of African Safari.


The rides were awesome. Three great roller coasters and other fun ones like this one... (Swinging Ship that goes completely upside down.)

Cassi's masterpiece!!!! She gave Bryce some muscles and a 6-pack. The kids had as much fun in the sand as they did in the water.



Audra and Cassi posing for the camera in their bikinis.


Bryce and Cassi running out to the beach. Tyler is sitting in the sand further out.

The four kids and me....out in the water. I spent about 2 hours on a float mat out in the water, just letting the waves therapeutically take me away!



It was a great vacation, one that we have been looking forward to for years. It was really nice to have the kids old enough to really appreciate the trip and be able to do everything. Our next family trip with all 6 of us will probably be opening day at Breck in November.

Trip to Florida

Oh Boy it has been a fun two days....traveling to Florida with all the kiddos. This was particularly exciting, as this was the first time Bryce, Tyler and Katie have flown. And....we broke them in on a 3.5 hour flight to Tampa.

To add drama to the whole flight, we arrived right in the middle of a Tropical Storm.....driving rain and winds around 50 mph...... but, think goodness, it didn't last. We had a great day today with a wonderful tour of the beach areas and a fabulous....sea food lunch.

Below are some pics of our trip to Florida.


The Lane Family heading for the shuttle to DIA.
Waiting at DIA for our flight to Tampa.

Exiting the plan at Tampa. Yes, we flew in to the Tropical Storm with torental rain.

Me and my boys!
Lunch at Crabby Bills on Madeira Beach.

Mother's Trip to Colorado

The post below details the primary reason for Mother's trip to Colorado (Cassi's Graduation), but while she was here, we decided to treat her to some additional fun.

This morning we awoke to clear skies and a great opportunity to drive the Pike's Peak Road (it had been closed the two previous days due to high winds above 10,000 feet.) The drive up was amazing, especially the views. Mother was in awe at all the skiers who were driving up to the top to ski down the snow filled chutes.

Believe it or not, this was the first trip up the mountain for the kids and me. Mother had been up Pikes Peak when she was 16 years old, a Senior Trip from Alpine, Texas.....back in 1946. Audra rode the Cog Rail when she was 16 years old with the Mathis family on a vacation to Colorado back in 1985.


Mother needed a little assistance walking across the ice and snow. Tyler and Katie came to her rescue. Look at the view behind them!

After the trip up the Peak, we headed over to Garden of the Gods and I gave Mother a full tour of the park on my motorcycle.





And... we sent Mom off to Anita and Meredith's graduation.

Cassi's Graduation

What a fun and wonderful day. We started off with coffee and Audra's famous coffee cake for breakfast and then we stayed busy until it was time to leave for Cassi's 2pm graduation.

(Click on the Pics for a better view)


Cassi with her classmates. She was one of about 190 Seniors. The graduation was held at the World Arena.




Cassi and her Principal... Receiving her diploma





The Family




Cassi and Mimi outside the World Arena.


Cassi and Mimi outside a Starbucks. We had about 3 hours between the end of graduation and our dinner appointment, so we went for a drive. We stopped in Woodland Park for coffee drinks and then drove all the way up to Cripple Creek to show Mom the old mining town.

Dinner was at the Broadmoor, Penrose Room. Mother and Cassi enjoyed Chateaubriand, and the rest of us feasted on other various dishes.

In addition to an awesome meal and phenomenal service, we enjoyed dancing to the Jazz Band. We all took turns spinning around the dance floor. Great memories!!!

We are so proud of Cassi. She has been an outstanding daughter and sister to her siblings. Her high school career is rich with accomplishments and a lot of fond memories. Cassi is simply turning the page to start another chapter in her life....a coming chapter that will also be exciting and fun.

Katie's 6th Grade Graduation

Last night we attended Katie's 6th Grade Graduation and helped to celebrate the end of her elementary years and transition to Middle School this coming fall.



Miss Katie, surrounded by her classmates.


Katie was awarded the Principals Citizenship Award for being a leader among her classmates. We are very proud of our young lady!!!!

Friday and Saturday

Friday and Saturday have held up to be 'true' end of the year....busy times. We had Katie's Band Concert and Tyler's Conference Track Meet. Here are some pics.....




Tyler had not High Jumped all year, but in practice on Wednesday, he was messing around and jumped over 5 feet. The coach asked him to jump...and he said yes. Long story short, he jumped 5'6" (barely missing 5'8") and got second place!





Tyler also had a great 110m hurdle race. After hitting the first hurdle really hard, he rallied to end up with the second place ribbon. (He was a little upset over this one, as this was the first race of the year where he was beat.)



Katie's pic at the Band Concert.



And Bryce....since Track is over and with time on his hands, the boy has been building. He merged a small bicycle and a scooter to make a mini-chopper.